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PKM

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 12:03 Written by Administrator Thursday, 02 July 2009 03:29

The PKM is a general purpose machine gun of Soviet design that is currently being produced in Russia. It was introduced in the 1960s to replace earlier designs such as the SG-43 and the RPD. The PKM was designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov and was the basis of a number of variants such as the PKS, PKT, PKMS and PKP. More than 1 millions PKM and its variants have been manufactured till date.

The original PK was a machine gun based on Kalashnikov’s automatic rifle. It fired the 7.62x54mm Soviet cartridge fed by a linked 25-round belt and was equipped with a bipod. This gun was designed both as a squad-level support weapon and also for vehicle mounts.

The PKM was an improvisation of the PK and featured many differences from the original design. Most notable was its reduced weight—the PKM weighed only 7.5 Kg while the PK weighed 9 Kg.

The PKM is gas-operated and use an open-bolt mechanism. It is capable of 650 rounds per minute. The PKT which is a variant of the PKM is capable of higher rates of fire at 800 rounds per minute. With a muzzle velocity of 825 meters per second, the PKM is effective up to a range of 1500 meters.

The PKM has several variants. These include:

>> PKMS: The PKMS is the mounted version of the PKM. It weighs about 12 Kg and uses a type of tripod mounting called the Stepanov’s tripod.

>> PKMSN2: This is a variant of the PKMS designed for operation in low visibility conditions and at night time. This gun comes fitted with the NSPU night vision system.

>> PKT: This is a variant of the PK intended to replace the SG-43 vehicle mounted machine gun. This variant featured a heavier and longer barrel and a electrically-controlled trigger mechanism.

>> PKM-NATO: PKM-NATO is a modified version of the PKM that uses the NATO 7.62x51 mm cartridge instead of the 7.62x54 mm Soviet. It also features other modifications such as a heavier barrel, redesigned lock and a larger chamber. The entire feeding mechanism has been improvised.

>> UKM-2000: This is a Polish variant of the PKM. It uses the 7.62x51 mm NATO cartridge and uses a 100, 200 or 250-round belt feed system.

>> PKP "Pecheneg": This is a modernized version of the PK that features design improvements such as a heavier, forced air-cooled barrel with radial cooling ribs. Due to these features, the Pecheneg is both more accurate and reliable that its predecessors. The PKP "Pecheneg" is currently being used by the Russian special purpose regiments or Spetsnaz in small numbers.

The PKM and its variants continue to be manufactured in Russia and some other countries under license. They are also being exported to a number of countries across the globe.

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